In the summer of 1968, Howard received a call
to two churches in North Dakota, Tuttle and Denhoff. After much
prayer we made our move and began a very busy life. He would
leave our home at 8:30 A. M. on Sunday mornings and drive to
Denhoff where they had church first and then Sunday school. Then
he would drive back to Tuttle and usually get there just in time
to go to the platform and preach. On Wednesday nights we had
prayer meeting in Denhoff, and Thursday nights in Tuttle. Then we
had Sunday evening service in Denhoff one week and in Tuttle the
next.

That fall he went to the High School with one
of our church boys, and came back with a chemistry teaching job.
So you see we were very busy, but so happy in the work of the
Lord. The people were so wonderful and so generous with their
farm products. How much we appreciated them. They kept us in
eggs, cream, meat and various other things.

In the spring of 1969, I was in the hospital in
Bismarck and about the time my doctor was going to dismiss me, I
asked him about my sight which I was still loosing. He ordered an
angiograph. In this test they shoot dye into the head through the
veins in the neck. Even though they gave me some anesthetic I was
still in a lot of pain and discomfort. They found a tumor on my
pituitary gland and suggested immediate surgery. God begin to
warn me not to have it done at that time. There was no mistaking
God's word in anyway. Howard also felt the same way. It was my
feeling that since God didn't want me to have the surgery, He
would heal me. He had healed me a number of times so I just
turned it over to Him.

In 1971, we were pastoring in Olivia, Minnesota
and my doctor got very serious and told me I had to do something
about the tumor. He told me I could go to Mayo Clinic or to the
University of Minnesota Hospital. He would contact them and get
an appointment for me. We decided that we might have to have
state help and chose the University of Minnesota. We left the
office and returned in a couple of hours and found he had gotten
an appointment for me the following Monday. This was a real
surprise to me for I thought it might be a month or two before I
could get an appointment On the 28th of June we met Dr. Long, my
neurosurgeon, who was very kind. When I met him I explained to
him I had a bleeding problem. When I had my tonsils out, they had
to put clamps down my throat to stop the bleeding and also I
could bleed for a day or two after I had a tooth pulled. He would
have liked to put me in the hospital then, but I asked if I
couldn't have that night to spend with my husband and go into the
hospital the next day. He granted my wish. Dr. Norman Bloom was
our District Superintendent at that time and he and his wife were
so kind to us. We spent that night in their home. The following
day I entered the hospital full of fear and doubt. That kind of
surgery would be hard for anyone to think about!

That weekend I was released from the hospital
and we went to see Mom and Dad. Mom went home with us for our
Sunday services and then to the hospital with me the following
week. She was so sweet to come, but it was hard for Dad. He had
surgery that spring and wasn't feeling that well either. It was
during this week that God gave me a real rest in Him. He told me
I would go through the surgery and live. He calmed the fears and
storms that raged in my heart at that time. On Thursday of that
week, I had a New-mon-encelifligraft. They put me to sleep for
this and took fluid from my spinal column and let air come into
my head, and then they got some good pictures of the tumor. They
had hoped to go up through my nose to take out the tumor, but
found the tumor was too big to do this. They would have to open
my head up almost ear to ear. Through it all my God was by my
side and I felt His divine presence. Because I didn't have a
headache on Friday morning they said I could go home for the week
end. Mom went home by bus, and I appreciated so much having her
with me through that hard week.

On Saturday, my back begin to hurt where they
had put the needle in. I was on strong doses of cortisone and not
realizing this would double the strength of any other medication,
I called my local doctor to see if he could order me some pain
medication. After explaining my situation to him, I asked him
about taking some strong aspirins. He said that would be just
fine. A few hours after taking them, I went on a drug trip. Oh,
it was terrible! Everything was so weird. It wasn't until after
surgery I got over this. Sunday evening I went back into the
hospital. Our church people were so loving and understanding. It
wasn't an easy time for them either.

My surgery was scheduled for 11:00 A. M. on
July the 14. My sister, Bernie, brought Mom and Dad up for the
surgery. Since my glands weren't working, I was deficient in
factor 8 that makes the blood clot. They used 51 pints of blood
to get the plasma I needed for that surgery. They started to work
on me quite early that morning and when Howard stepped into the
room, he had a worried look on his face, for he didn't think they
would be working on me yet. Even though I didn't plan on shedding
tears, when I saw the troubled look on his face I shed a few
tears for him. They had canceled a surgery and wanted to take me
in earlier than they had planned. My desire was to see my parents
and sister before I went to surgery. When I thought they would
take me before they got there I begin to cry, and about that time
they stepped through the door. It wasn't because I didn't think
I'd see them again, but I just wanted to see them before going
into surgery. The first thing they had to do was to shave my
head. Not all of it, but back a way so they could make an
incision. How old that razor was I don't know, but it felt like
they were going to take my scalp off too. Finally, I asked the
doctor doing it, how much he was going to take off. He asked me
how much they had promised to leave. They hadn't said anything
about it and I heard Dr. Long say that was enough.

That is about all I remember until coming out
of it in the recovery room, Dr. Long used a microscope after
making the incision and found one of my main arteries wasn't
covered by bone tissue. You see, if I had surgery done in North
Dakota, I would have been dead on two accounts, the blood
condition and the uncovered artery. You never make a mistake by
minding God. It took them four hours to do the surgery. It was
also in the brain area and my right optic nerve was smashed like
a noodle, leaving me legally blind in the right eye.

When I woke up, my main problem was the
sensation of spinning in space. My eyes were swollen shut and I
couldn't see that I wasn't spinning. Howard held my hand, but
that didn't stop my spinning. When I got my eyes open I could see
I wasn't spinning, even though I felt like I was. Mom stayed a
few days with me that was a great help. A fellow pastor and his
wife were so kind to us by opening their home for Howard and my
Mother to stay with them. So many people helped me at that time I
could never name all the things they did.

One Sunday, while still in the hospital, I had
a wonderful experience. Howard was home in Olivia taking care of
the church services, and I was in the hospital without a
roommate, While listening to a Christian radio station playing
Doug Oldam's rendition of "The King is Coming", the
King Jesus came that afternoon in the Brightness of His Glory,
and comforted my heart. He was so real, I think anyone coming
into the room could have felt His presence. How can I ever thank
Him enough! This will always be a wonderful memory to me.

He is able to help us meet every situation we
face in this life, regardless of what it is. He promised He would
never leave us or forsake us. Isn't it wonderful to know that He
is always there hearing and answering our prayers? Whatever your
need is today, He alone is able to see you through. He is able.

People all around us need to hear about God's
ability to help us and keep us. That is one reason I have written
this book. Our God can do what He did for the three Hebrew
children by taking us through our fiery furnace. They came out of
the furnace without the smell of smoke, and so may we. My friend,
whatever your need, our God whom we serve is able. We may see the
enemy's forces all around but God can help us see God's great
army arrayed against the devil's forces.

HE'S ABLE

Are you tempted to be discouraged?

Don't think it's something new.

It's Satan's plot of long ago,

Now He's trying it on you.

He doesn't care just how he strikes,

He has just one thought in mind.

To get you to look downward,

Not up, to God divine.

He points out just how bad things are;

Forgets about the rest.

All the blessings God has given you,

And grace to pass each test.

Elisha's servant woke one morn,

To find, they were compassed about

With Syrian chariots and horses!

His heart was filled with doubt.

He told his fear to Elisha,

Who started then to pray.

He asked God to open his eyes,

To see His forces that day.

The servant took another look,

And, oh, what a sight to see!

There were chariots and horses of fire.

Yes, that meant victory.

We too serve the God of Elisha;

He still is just the same.

Just lean on His almighty power,

We must remember that God above.

Has forces out there fighting,

Don't forget about His love.

So when Satan would like to bring us

Discouragement along the way,

Let's look up and trust in God.

He has strength for every day.

by Arlene R. Wright

Window (11) THE
GREATEST THRILL

It was necessary for me to have cobalt
treatments although I didn't have cancer. If they missed a cell
of the tumor in surgery, it could grow and that would mean
another surgery. As an out patient, I would have this done five
days a week. The big problem was, where was I going to stay. They
had a hall, Powell Hall, where you could rent a room, but our
budget wasn't big enough to allow for that. It became a matter of
prayer. One day a young nurse was in my room and I was explaining
my problem to her when she told me she had a room in Powell Hall,
and she didn't sleep there and I was more than welcome to use it
while I had my cobalt treatments. God heard and answered prayer
again. Four out of the five weeks of treatments 1 used her room
and paid her a small fee. She didn't even want to take that. God
does have a way of working things out if we will but trust Him.

On July 30th, I was dismissed from the
University of Minnesota Hospital. The day before I was to leave
the hospital Mrs. Margaret Bloom, our district superintendent's
wife, gave me a wig. It made me so happy to know I wouldn't have
to go around with a skull cap. We could never thank the wonderful
people who were so kind to us at this needy time in our lives.
When I was dismissed from the hospital I remember how strong I
felt and had plans of going home and doing some housework. When I
got home I found I wasn't as strong as I thought I was. One of
our teen aged girls had cleaned our parsonage. How I appreciated
that.

The following Monday we were back in
Minneapolis and it took them three hours to put the red markings
on the sides of my face, to correspond with the area of the
tumor. Since I didn't have cancer the treatments didn't make me
sick, but I felt quite weak.

One of the greatest thrills of my life came
during assembly. Howard and I were both up for ordination. We met
the board and I praise God that our church is so careful about
the ministers they ordain. They had asked my husband what he
would do if they didn't ordain him. He told them that God had
ordained him years ago, and it would not change his ministry. As
we went to our room after that meeting, which was after the
evening service, I wasn't sure whether they would ordain me or
not, but I committed it to the Lord, knowing He was fully in
charge of my affairs. The next day we were informed that we were
both going to be ordained. I called my parents and told them
about our ordination and they were able to come and be with us
for that important event.

The week before coming to camp, Howard and I
had looked in Minneapolis for a suitable dress for me for
ordination. Anything we could afford wasn't suitable, and what
was suitable, we couldn't afford. After resuming home we went to
Willmar, Minnesota and there I found a beautiful three piece suit
on sale at half price. It was just what God wanted me to have,
and I am still wearing it from time to time. God does care about
anything that is a problem to us, no matter how small it may be.
Oh, how much we owe to our great and wonderful God.

If you would have seen me at the time of
ordination, you may have not known me. For one thing my wig
wasn't the same color as my hair. Then I had gained some weight,
and I had red X's on the side of my face for the cobalt
treatments. If I had lost those markings it would have taken them
another 3 hours to remark them.

Talk about thrills, that night was full of
them. As our group marched to the front of the tabernacle to the
tune of "Called unto Holiness" I remember how thrilled
I was. Earlier the choir sang "There's Something About That
Name." The greatest thrill of all came as an answer to my
prayer. Dr. George Coulter was our General Superintendent and I
appreciated the fact he would be laying his hands on me, but I
asked God for His touch at this time, and God did touch me in a
special way. What an honor it is to be an ordained elder in the
Church of the Nazarene. There is quite a debt I owe to my church.
For it was there I heard the message of entire sanctification,
had the privilege of going to a Nazarene college and met my
wonderful husband. It is my hope that in some way I can give back
to the church my life of service and love to my wonderful Lord.

The following Monday I went back to Minneapolis
for two more weeks of cobalt I treatments. Of course, I was home
each week end. My bill was over $7,000.00 and our insurance paid
$5,000.00 of it. How we appreciated having that coverage. Dr.
Norman Bloom presented our case to the Board of Ministerial
Benevolence and they sent us a check for close to $1,000,00. He
told us when we got the check and were going to go to the
hospital to pay the bill, or what we could pay on it, he wanted
to go with us. So on a set day he met us there. He explained that
my husband was the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene at
Olivia, Minnesota and that our salary was $50.00 a week. He told
him how much the insurance had paid and that we had a check of
almost a $1,000.00 that day from our General Church through
Ministerial Benevolence, and asked him what he would suggest
After placing the entire matter in God's hands, I put my complete
trust in Him. If the hospital decided not to cancel any of the
bill, then I knew that He would help us get the money to pay it.
The man did some figuring on his adding machine and told us if we
would give him a check for $810.05 that would take care of our
bill. They forgave us $600.00. OH, GLORY BE TO JESUS. God took
care of it all. We did our best to express our appreciation to
him. My husband went to different departments at the hospital
where we owed money, and they told him they were accepting the
insurance payment as final payment. We had enough left to pay off
a loan we had to make. Oh, what a thrill to serve a God that
never fails us or forsakes us.

The greatest thrill of all is yet to come when
I meet my Lord face to face. I am looking forward to that day,
but each day it is a wonderful thrill to walk with Him. He fills
me with the Brightness of His Glory. Each day there are new
thrills and new insights into His glory. Oh, that I might be able
to illuminate Him. As the moon has no light of its own, but just
reflects the sun's light, I want to show forth the Brightness of
His Glory to those all around me.

THE GREATEST THRILL

There could never be a greater thrill,

While on this earth below,

Than the thrill of walking with our God,

Oh, what a thrill to know.

I can feel His very presence,

As we walk along the way.

We have such sweet communion,

Especially when we pray.

We can walk with the very One,

Who put the stars in space.

He is so willing to be our Guide,

And keep us by His grace.

He'll give us such assurance,

When we take to Him our care,

He'll take that burden from our heart,

If we'll leave it with Him there.

Sometimes, down in the valley,

He doesn't seem so near.

But, if we don't keep trusting Him,

We must not live by feelings,

But in faith in God alone.

He's still right there beside us,

And He claims us for His own.

As we climb the VICTOR'S mountain,

We'll find He's sweeter still,

Than all we've ever dreamed of,

Oh, what a blessed thrill.

Take the thrills the world can give,

They never could compare,

To the joy of walking with our God,

And living in His care.

The best is still ahead of us,

We'll see Him face to face,

Who died to set us free from sin,

And save us by His grace.

The only way you'll know this thrill,

Is to do the Master's will.

To live each day alone for Him.

Oh, what a heavenly thrill.

by Arlene R. Wright

Window (12) ME A
MISSIONARY, LORD?

In the spring of 1972, we had gone to a
neighboring church to hear Evangelist Bob Hickey. That night he
gave his life story and told us how he came to Christ. We were
very blessed by the service. He announced that the following
evening, Saturday night, he was going to show slides of their
work with the Indians in Arizona which they did in the summer
time when they didn't have revivals slated. It sounded very
interesting, so we went. We were greatly impressed with the work
he, his wife and daughter were doing. On the way home I said to
my husband, "Honey, wouldn't it be wonderful if God would
ever call us to do something like that?" He said that it
sure would be. We just couldn't forget about it and as summer
came on so did the awareness that God was through with us at
Olivia We met Dr. Bloom and told him about our desire to work
with the American Indians. He gave us Rev. G. H. Pearson's
address, who at that time was the District Superintendent. We
were praying that if it wasn't God's will, not to let us go. We
only wanted to be where He wanted us to be doing what He wanted
us to do. This was about the time of the General Assembly and of
course Rev. Pearson was very busy. We did hear from him though,
and he sent us some application blanks to be filled out. We kept
on praying that God's will would be done. Then we received a
letter from him saying that he was still waiting for some of our
references and that he would call us the next week and let us
know. He had a place in mind for us.

The following week we were to help in the Boys
and Girls camp at Camp Jim, near Brainerd, Minnesota. So Howard
wrote right back and told him where we were going to be and the
phone number there. It was just at the dinner hour with over 150
children fined up in front of the dining hall when the call came.
Howard couldn't even hear where we were supposed to go, but that
we were being appointed. When he came by me on the way to be with
his boys, he told me we had been appointed. As I was jumping up
and down with excitement, the girls from my cabin wondered what
was wrong with me. I told them if they could keep a secret, I
would tell them after dinner. That evening Dr. Bloom was able to
talk to Rev. G. H. Pearson and found out we was going to Sells,
Arizona to work with the Thono Odahm Indians (Papago Indians when
we were there). We were so happy and the following Sunday we
announced our resignation. When I had called my parents to let
them know about our next move their response was that they had
given me to the Lord before I was born and they were glad for me
to serve Him, wherever He might lead. How much I appreciated my
Godly parents and their commitment to Him.

We were quite busy the next few weeks getting
things packed and selling a few items that we couldn't take with
us. We would be leaving Friday during the week of district
assembly. At the assembly they called me to give my yearly report
as an ordained elder. When I finished I went to sit down, but
they called me back. Then Howard gave his report and we both went
to sit down and they called us back again. Each church on the
Minnesota District had taken an offering for us, and presented it
to us at that time. It was very deeply appreciated. We thought we
would put it into a bank when we got to our new home, but God
knew we would need it before we were settled there and provided
for us in this wonderful way.

On Friday, the son of one of our neighboring
pastors came and helped us pack a tandem trailer. We had supper
with some friends and about 6:00 P. M. we headed out for my
parent's home. It was only about 130 some miles and we should
have made it in a few hours. After some car trouble we arrived at
my parent's home about 6:00 A. M.

We spent that day, Saturday, resting and
getting the car fixed. We didn't like to travel on Sunday, but we
had to in order to make it on time in Arizona. We left Mason City
on Sunday morning stopping in Ames, Iowa for church. We were
traveling one day down a mountain pass on a two lane road and
coming up this road was a big truck, when a car pulled out to
pass. With all the weight of that trailer behind us, if we would
have hit, there would have been no way for us to have lived. My
husband decided to go to the edge of the road, but the driver of
the car cut across and missed us only by inches. We knew God had
His hand on us. When we were traveling between Flagstaff and
Phoenix, Arizona our radiator boiled over. We didn't have any
water with us, but it started to rain. Howard found a place close
by where they had made an opening in the pavement to let the
water run off. He soon found a tin can and begin to fill the
radiator. As soon as he had it full, it stopped raining. God sent
that rain just for us when we needed it.

When we arrived at Phoenix, we went to Rev. and
Mrs. Pearson's home for the night. Rev. Pearson was already at
Sells and the next day we took Mrs. Pearson with us. They were
having camp meeting when we arrived. They have it from Wednesday
through Sunday before Labor Day. The camp meeting evangelist was
staying in the parsonage, so we moved our things into two of the
bedrooms, and resumed the trailer to a place in Tucson.

Seeing it would take a few days after the camp
meeting to get our things unpacked and arranged, Rev. Pearson
left his small trailer for us to stay in until we could get
settled. Our mission station consisted of an alabaster church,
the parsonage and the cook house. During camp meeting they
furnish all the meals for the people. After supper the first
night a little girl was bitten by a scorpion, and we took her and
her mother to the local hospital. The Doctor told us they had
killed a rattle snake in the hospital yard the day before and
gave us a long list of all the poisonous creatures that live
around there. This little girl had no complications from the
bite.

That night after we were in bed we heard
something howling. We had never heard coyotes before, and thought
sure it was some dog that had been bitten by a rattle snake, or
something similar. We soon learned our mistake and got used to
hearing them howl. We were always very cautious to make sure
there were no snakes or the like on the ground as we went to
church.

We enjoyed the Camp Meeting very much and were
glad to meet the former pastor there, Rev. Clarence Liston. He
was going to our Indian Bible School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He took Howard calling with him and that was a great help. We
also meet Rev. and Mrs. Alfred Wickland, missionaries in Tucson.
They were such good friends and came out on Labor Day to help us
with some painting in the house.

For the first 14 monthswe lived there
we had to carry all of the water we used in a large plastic
container. Between where we lived and where we got the water was
a wash, which would turn into a little creek when it rained. We
could only fill the container about half full, for if it was
filled up you lost quite a bit of it going through the wash. We
did have a septic tank, so we were thankful for that convenience.
A blue granite canner was used to heat water for dishes. We had
another container in a closet near the bathroom, which we used so
we could flush the bathroom stool. The government came into our
area and built one hundred new homes for our Indian people, and
brought the water line through. We were able to connect to this.
What a blessing. The day we got the water turned on, I did quite
a bit of mopping. The parsonage was quite new and had all the
pipes in it. How were they to know if they were tight or not
without any water to go through them? It wouldn't have bothered
me if the water was up to my knees for I was so glad to have
running wafer in our home.

So many times we take things for granted until
we no longer have them. Since I am legally blind in my right eye
and have lost some of the sight in my left eye, I appreciate the
gift of sight more than ever. Why must we lose things in order to
appreciate them? Let's stop and thank God for all the blessings
He gives us and count them day by day.

To a certain extent, I think we went through a
cultural shock. When we saw homes with dirt walls and floors,
cooking being done in a cactus arbor, water and wood being
carried for miles, it was quite a shock. I didn't realize that
people in the United States lived in such a style. When the
ladies wanted their floors to look neat, they would rake it. Not
all homes were like this. Some had cement floors and things
somewhat better. The food prices at the trading post were
unreasonable. One day, in 1973, I went to buy a quart of skim
milk, and it was 90 some cents.

It was necessary for us to go to Tucson once a
week to buy our groceries, do our laundry, and banking for us and
the church. Most of the time we would stop and see our friends,
the Wicklands, and spend some relaxing time with them.

On Monday nights we went south 20 miles to a
little village to hold Sunday school and church. We were allowed
the use of the tribal building, unless they were using it that
night. This was a real outreach for the church. One of our ladies
went with us and taught the adult class. My husband and I taught
the children. Howard would take us to the building where we had
our services, and then go and pick up the people. One little girl
was a challenge and needed to learn discipline. In the last
service there I gave each child a sheet of typing paper and asked
them to draw a picture on it. When we got hers, she had printed
on the bottom of the page, I LOVE YOU. We had tried to convey to
all of the children our great love for them, and most of all
God's love. She felt our love for her through our gentle
discipline.

It took a while for the people to get adjusted
to us. The church was only about seven years old and they had
always had Rev. Clarence Liston as their pastor. Most or nearly
all of their services had been in the Papago language. Then come
two greenhorn missionaries who didn't know a word in Papago and
the services had to be done in English. There were only a few of
the people who didn't understand English. These were the older
people. The young people and children weren't learning the Papago
language and they will soon lose it if they don't start learning
it.

Since the adult class was in Papago, I felt the
need for an English class, and I started one. We had some white
people living in that area who could take advantage of this
class. It was also necessary to have a children's church. It
started after Sunday School through to the end of the church
service. I found that I just had a hard time getting enough
material to last that long. So we went to church and left when my
husband got up to preach. This worked out well, and we praise God
for the way He helped us in so many wonderful ways.

One day when I had an appointment at the
University of Arizona Clinic, I met Dr. Dorthea Hellman. She told
me there was one test she wanted to take, to see if I had
Turner's syndrome. This was very upsetting to me and I told her
all I had been through in connection with it. Neither Howard nor
I could make ourselves accept the idea that I had Turner's
syndrome. He had worked with patients in a mental hospital in
Nampa, Idaho, when he was a student there, and knew some of the
things that go along with Tumer's syndrome. She was a very sweet
lady and said if they found that I had it, she didn't want to
hear me mention it in her office. This time, for the first time,
they took a blood test to test the chromosomes. When the test
came back the chromosomes were perfect and it had been the tumor
on my pituitary gland that had kept the other glands from
working. No one, but God, and my husband knows the release I
found that day. No longer could the devil call me a freak and get
away with it So many times when I had preached and someone found
victory at the altar of prayer, the devil would come around and
point his long finger at me and remind me that I was not normal.
Now God had set me free, and I will be praising Him throughout
the endless ages of eternity.

As you know, one of the biggest problems with
our dear Indians is the liquor bottle. It was against the law to
sell it on the reservation, but some got away with it. It was so
sad to see them lying along the road. One night we nearly ran
over a man laying in a driveway. One day, while doing dishes, I
heard a light knock on our back door. There stood a woman, whose
common law husband had knocked her down, and kicked her in the
head with his cowboy boots. We took her to the doctor and thought
for sure she would never drink. But not many weeks later, she was
drunk and had given her house key to her little four year old
daughter, and she didn't know where it was. Another lady, whom we
also took to the hospital came to our front door with a similar
problem. One young man came to the house on a Sunday morning
desiring to go to our Bible School, so Howard made the
arrangements. He didn't come back and a few months later he had
died of cirrhosis of the liver.

But thank God, we could tell them of One who
could take that appetite away from them and set them free. Many
times the men would come and testify about knowing someone in the
church when they used to drink. We have such good news for all
mankind.

While we were there I did have some physical
problems. It was necessary for us to go for close to a 2 1/2 mile
walk in the desert one day. On Sunday we had had a blow out. The
spare tire wasn't much good, and someone loaned us an old
fashioned tire pump. On Monday, Howard got it fixed and that
night when we let the children out at the tribal building, where
we had our outpost, they were laughing, for they could hear the
air coming out of one of the tires. One of our ladies had come in
her car and she drove us back to town to see if we could find a
tire to fit it We tried, but they didn't fit, so we took that
tire off and went home for the night The next day Howard got it
fixed and another lady took us out Howard put the tire back on.
When we got back to Sells, we decided to go and see a lady who
lived 10 miles out in the desert. We lacked one tenth of a mile
from being 2 1/2 miles from her home, as we were going home when
another tire blew. It was too hot to just sit there. So we
decided to walk back to our lady's home to see what she could do
to help us.

On Wednesday I had promised Mrs. Wickland that
I would put a permanent in her hair. While we were there Howard
got very sick and had to go to the doctor. Since Howard was too
sick to go home we spent the night with them. In the night I got
sick and ended up in the hospital.

There were blood clots coming up through my
legs going through my heart and lungs causing problems. After
being in the hospital twenty one days, they sent me home on a
blood thinner called Cubadin. After breaking out with a rash, the
Lord told me I was going back to the hospital. This worried me,
for I was concerned about the bill. He soon reminded me of what
He had done for us at the University of Minnesota Hospital. The
following; Monday I went back to the doctor and the blood thinner
wasn't doing its job. I was the 5th person in the United States
to ever be allergic to it. Again they admitted me to the hospital
for several days. Finally, I got over this problem.

In the summer of 1973 I got a pain in my right
hip, and I finally went to the doctor to have it checked. After
x-rays they told me my hip socket was dying and there was nothing
they could do for me. They suggested that I get some crutches and
use them. After writing my parents about it, they began to pray.
That year we had our Vacation Bible School the same time as our
camp meeting. During this week I didn't have any pain at all. The
next week I went to see the doctor and he asked me if it was
hurting, and I told him that it wasn't. He said I was lucky, and
I told him it wasn't luck but faith in God that had made the
difference. God completely healed me of that.

The bill? One of my doctors had told me if I
had trouble with it to let him know. The day we were packing the
van and trailer to leave, the hospital called to tell me they
were canceling the rest of my bill. God does not fail, for He
does what He says He will do.

In April of 1974, we had Rev. and Mrs. Ed
Timer, who had been missionaries to the Indians for a number of
years, hold a revival for us. On Easter Sunday afternoon we went
out to their little trailer which they had parked behind our
parsonage, to have a visit with them. They told us they thought
we ought to leave our work there. This was a real shock to us,
but we begin to pray about it. We were there under God's orders
and we wanted to be sure we were still in His will. As we prayed
we became aware that our work was done there. We contacted Dr.
Norman Bloom about getting another pastorate. We were still
members of the Minnesota District. You can't belong to the North
American Indian District unless you are Indian.

We resigned our church not knowing where God
was going to lead us. One Monday, not too long before we left,
Howard was very upset and discouraged. We were going to be
leaving and as yet had no direction as to where we were to go and
what we were to do. He spent quite a bit of time out on the
desert praying about it As we woke the following morning God had
revealed to him what He wanted us to do. Howard was to go back to
college and get his degree so he could get a job to support us
while we started new churches on the Minnesota District. He had a
number of college hours of work, but not enough in any major to
graduate. He had finished the course of studies through
correspondence in order to be ordained.

We were content and knew our God would not fail
us, but see us through. Some of the scriptures I read that
morning were promises for the future. It was so very hard to
leave those wonderful people, but it always pays for everyone's
benefit to mind God. Hearing those beautiful Christian people as
their choir sang for us on our last Sunday there, will forever be
in our memories. The day will come when we will meet them in
heaven. There together we will see the brightness of His Glory.